This is the second in what will eventually be a three-album series called "A Phantom Whines." The third has not yet been finished and I haven't heard the first album, but I really enjoy this one.
Edward Lasher's lyrics are pensive and, normally, immediately relateable despite the fact that he is obviously describing his take on very specific events in his life. His reverbed voice, often stacked and harmonized, is soft and full of character, a style that reminds me of Okkervil River's singer Will Sheff. Instrumentation varies, sometimes bare acoustic guitar, sometimes accompanied or dominated by electric guitar, ukulele, synth, saxophone, xylophone, and sparse percussion. Each of the 16 songs, totaling 48 minutes, is short, and the folk/country/indie aesthetic is accented with well-paced, pleasant hooks and memorable one-liners. Recognizable, almost old-timey song structures ensure that you won't mind songs being stuck in your head for days. Attention to detail and production are apparent, a noteworthy feat, considering it was partially recorded in a college dorm room setup!
The resulting mood varies from haunting and somber, to ethereal, light, and almost playful at times, to positively optimistic. These moods befit and compliment the heavy subject matter, a sort of biographical account of dealing with death and the myriad of affects it has on one's closest relationships.
The album's first half easily engages the listener with The Trazodone Shuffle, Something Predictable, and Get Untethered. Then, planted at the album's center, In Caves is a calmly uplifting track whose intoxicating, synthesized melody begins sparse and repeats three times, distinctly separated by the sound of a cassette tape player being rewound and started again, each time with more layered synth and background vocals--you simply want this song to go on forever. But it doesn't, and although there are no truly bad songs, the pace then lags during Said Nothing, A Bird Song About Falling, A Dialogue, and A Phantom. But the album ends with the powerful and dark Maryland, Maryland (in my opinion the best track), which is about a friend who commits suicide, in keeping with the overall mood and leaving the listener with the sense of shock and lingering sorrow that has been communicated throughout.
